Powder dispenser



Oct; 14, 1941. 1.. A. CHAMBERS POWDER DISPENSER Filed Oct. 19, 1940 INVENTOR. A aura ,4 6%0/77f/J 62.44 6

ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 14, i4i

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE POWDER. DISPENSER Laura A. .Chambers,StJiIlonis; Mo: Application October 19, 1940; Serial; No. 361,837

9 Claims. -132-82) This invention relates to powder containers anddispensers; more specificallydt relates to small items of thistype-commonly employed by women and frequentlytermed compacts, a1 thoughuse of the invention is notlimited'to'this field;

It is the principal-objectof this invention-to render a powder dispenserreadily refillable andcapable of dispensing powder in limited and controlled amounts.

Another object is to" provide adispenser body or housing with a supplychamber surrounding a. well-like discharge chamber, thelatter beingformed within the former preferably bya neckv member extendinginwardly-from the top of the housing.

In its preferred form the inventionconsists, except for the lidj of aonc -piece flexible struc? ture having a centralwell for receiving apowder, puff and an annular storage chamber suirounding said wellcapableof receivinga supply-of powder to be discharged into the centralwellasde-v from the container rather than into it.' In plac inga supplyof'powder in the storage chamber, the neck is turned to.the outwardlyextended position and'the powder isintroduced through.

the neck as a funnel. After filling, the. neck is returned to theinwardly=extending position to form the central well for a restricted,quantityof...

powder.

In the accompanying drawing illustratingethe; invention and forming apart, of this. specificae tion- Figure 1 isa top view. of one form ofthe invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the same and shows apowder duster in the central well.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view similar to Figure 2 exceptthat the powder duster is omitted and the neck member which forms thecentral well in Figure 2 is shown protruding outwardly from the top ofthe housing.

Figure 4 is a vertical cross section of another form of the invention.

Figures 5 and 6 are vertical cross sections of another form of theinvention, the former showing the neck member in the outwardly extendingposition.

Referring to Figures' 1 to .3'; inclusive, the hous ing -consistsofabottom orfioor member I; side WallsaZ, and a top plate 3 having asubstantial opening or well 4 in the central portion-thereof.

AneclLmember 5 is preferably formed integrally with:- top; plate 3.In-fact, it is considered preferableto form the. entire structure'thusfar describ'edzin-one integral-.unit; thisconstruction is notessential,however, for the various parts of thezhousing. may beformed separatelyand assemb1ed.-. Neck Bmay: be turned downwardly, as

shown in Figures 1. and 2, or may be turned upwardly, as showninFigureB. When turned downwardly, the neck rim isyieldinglythrust againstthe-base; A. tab l5 may beattached to the: neck.5'to facilitatereversing thedirection ofthesaidneck 5. when filling the supply cham--A'clid; 6, attached .by" the hinge 'l, is-optional and will beincludedorsnot depending upon the use to which the dispenser is to be put. Thelid may, include. azpocket P for a handkerchief, comb, lipstick; orother accessory.

A powder cluster 8 has a handle portion 9 which fitsisnuglyzinto thewell 4 being seated partially, at least on neck:5.

The powder from the supply chamber I0 is controllably expelled onto thefloorof the well 4 by slightly compressing theu'housi-ng; this operationtends to reduce the;:vo1-ume-of'zthe-chamber I 9 and hence to,force= alimiteda-mountof powder outbetween' the freecend ofthe neck.5 and theinner surface gofrthe. floor; I of the housing or adequate openings-inthe edgeofsthe neck.

A perforated disk I 3 -is shown: spaced from the floor of the well-4 :by,cross.ibars:l4 on its lower face. Disk [3 serves tOuSlft the quantityofpowder dispensed and the cross bars l4, upon slight rotationor othermovement'of diskzlli, act to abrade and break up any powder cakes whichmay have been formed. The abrading disk I 3 is readily removable forcleaning the same, and when it is removed the entire interior of thedispenser may be thoroughly cleaned.

The species illustrated in Figure 4 consists of a housing having abottom I, side walls 2' and a top plate 3' and generally simulates theconstruction shown in Figures 1 to 3 except that the opening in thecentral portion of top plate 3 is much smaller, reducing the size ofwell 4'. The flexible neck 5' is reversible, as in previous structures,to enable filling the supply chamber III. In the present structure,however, the powder is dispensed primarily through perforations IS inthe top plate 3' of the housing to a pad or puff H.

The species illustrated in Eiguresb and 6 has a bottom 2|, side Walls 22and top plate 23. The neck member 25 is shown as b'eing of thinnermaterial than other parts of the structure; this is not essential but itis necessary that a substantial portion of the neck be sufiicientlyflexible to enable its direction to be reversed. The neck includes anozzle 26. It may be desirable that the nozzle 26, or other member fromwhich the powder is emitted at 21, and the main body of the housing, beof a more rigid material. This dispenser may be filled through anauxiliary valve 23 in the neck. This valve may comprise an elastic tubewhich may be turned outwardly and stretched over the mouth of a supplycontainer for filling or may be turned inwardly, as indicated in dottedlines at 28a, and the elasticity of the free end of the tube will resistdischarge of powder therethrough particularly in view of the blocking ofthe base of the tube by theseating of nozzle 26 in the central well, asshownin Figure 6.

While rubber may be the preferred material in fabricating thesedispensers, it is not the only material which serves satisfactorily.Difierent parts of a given structure may be formed from metal, wood,plastics or other materials. It may.

be desirable to have at least a portion of the housing formed oftransparent or translucent material to permit the user to see the amountof powder in the supply chamber.

p The invention isi capable of being put to a number of uses. Forexample, the forms illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 are adapted to beingused either as dresser powder boxes or as compact units to be carried onthe person. The form illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 serves very well asa dispenser for sprinkling powder wherever desired.

While certain embodiments of the invention have been describedspecifically for illustrative purposes, other modifications will becomeobvious to persons skilled in the art, and the exclusive use of suchmodifications as come within the scope of the claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

l. A powder dispenser comprising a housing and having spaced apartwalls, there being an opening in one of said Walls, a tubular neckmember of flexible material with one end communieating with the interiorof said housing, said neck member being extensible outwardly from itsinner end through said opening to facilitate the filling of said housingand being reversible to extend from said inner end into said housing toform a closed annular reservoir around the member.

substantially the entire structure is formed in tegrally from rubber orlike material, the housing being of relatively stiff material and theneck member being of relatively flexible material to facilitate itsreversal.

3. A dispenser as described in claim 1 which includes a separate padfitted in the neck member, when the latter is in its inwardly extendingposition, and removable therefrom for applying the powder to the desiredsurface.

4. A dispenser as described in claim 1 in which a tab-like element isprovided on the neck member to be grasped by the fingers to facilitatereversing the extension of the neck member.

5. A dispenser as described in claim 1 in which the neck member isprovided with apertures near its rim to facilitate the passage of powderfrom the reservoir into the well defined by the neck memberwhen itextends inwardly, as described.

6. A powder dispenser comprising a housing forming a reservoir andhaving a bottom Wall and a top wall with an opening, a perforated diskspaced above said bottom wall and of substantially smaller area, a neckmember of flexible material connected at one end to the edge of saidopening and being capable of extending outwardly from said top wall toform a spout through which the reservoir may be filled or to extendinwardly into said housing with its free end surrounding said disk toform a central well, a removable pufi-like member overlying said disk,and a cover secured to the housing and fitting over said pad.

'7. A powder dispenser comprising a housing forming a reservoir andhaving a top wall with an opening, a neck member of flexible materialconnected at one end to the edge of said opening and being capable ofextending outwardly from said top wall and provided with a nozzle at itsfree end, said nozzle being of less diameter than said opening wherebythe neck member may be doubled upon itself and the nozzle receivedthrough said opening into the interior of the housing.

8. A' dispenser as described in claim ,1 which includes a cover mountedon the upper wall and, when closed, overlying the opening in the upperwall'and the neck member extending inwardly therefrom.

9. A dispenser of the class described comprising a housing having spacedapart walls, there being an opening in one of said walls, a flexibleneck member communicating with the interior of the housing through saidopening, said neck member being selectively reversible to extendoutwardly of the housing from said opening to form a filling spout andto be projected inwardly of the housingfrom said opening with itsinwardly projectling portion in contact with the other of said wa s.

LAURA A. CHAMBERS.

